claiming ownership of a hate group could have that effect. we must stop giving them their power. dr. king had a dream that his children would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. that should be our dream for all of our children. we must continue to work together to overcome hatred and achieve this dream. thank you. >> gentleman: everything has a starting point. i feel that him starting it, it will make a difference. >> christof: do you think that harrison will ever be able to overcome their reputation while the klan is still active? >> it is not impossible but it's not probable why they are still active and that's the truth. >> vo: mayor crocket's denouncement of the klan

led the news around the state that night, angering the klan in harrison. >> rachel: so, what you are going to just jump in line with the people that want to destroy your own people? >> christof: this one guy seems to hold so much power over this town. >> mayor: i think i have more power to change the town and i intend to use it. >> robb: there is no problem. jeff crocket can move. he can be in a diversified community. >> christof: but you aren't going anywhere. >> robb: oh, we're not going anywhere. i mean we are too well established. we were established before they moved here and we will be established after they are laying cold in the grave.

bloc >> michael: coming up tonight, progressives are hoping the new hope will bring the catholic church into the 21st century on issues ranging from gay marriage to contraception to women's rights. their message, lighten up francis. i'm michael shure, and you are in "the war room." [♪ theme music ♪] >> michael: [ speaking foreign ] it took two days and five rounds of voting but the catholic church finally has a new pope and they have the white smoke to prove it. [ cheers ]

>> michael: so without further adieu, i introduce you to pope francis. he is the first pope from the americas. he's aragain tinnian and the first josowit pope. more than 40% of catholics live in latin america. he focuses on social justice and built his career advocating for the poor. he chose to live in a simple apartment rather than a palace. and we cooked his own meals, but he will face bigger challenges than making his own dinner as a leader of a billion member church. starting with the sex abuse scandals.

since 1950 nearly 7,000 priests have been accused of sexual abuse. not only has that had major implications for he church's reputation but also its finances. pope francis will have to deal with the fallout. as we take a closer look at the new pope, we want to remind you we are live tweeting tonight's show and we want to hear from you. we're now going to bring in john garring. thanks for being with us here in "the war room." >> great to be here. thank you. >> michael: was this choice a surprise? >> in some ways it wasn't. the church recognizes its growth in the global south. he came in second place in 2005 but he wasn't on the short list

in recent discussions. so it a surprise but i think that it was a good choice. was instruct by him taking the name francis, which i think signals a commit to the poor and social justice. >> michael: popes can choose their own name and this pope chose a new name francis. is that a new chapter for the church sxh >> well, it's going to take a while to know if it's a new chapter, but i think it's a good first signal. st. francis was known to at times even challenge church authorities in his quest for living out the gospel. he walked with the poor, was concerned about the environment. he said the most important thing to do is live the gospel not to preach it. so i think there is some real hope this could bring about a

period of renewal in the church and a focus on social justice could be really important here. >> michael: yeah, i think the world -- and not just catholics want to see the catholic church focus on social justice. i think that would be a good chapter for this church. how will he approach then the sexual abuse scandal? >> i hope he would tackle it head on. it has devastated the church's reputation throughout the world. we near the period of lent right now. if he put forward a 40-day fast to think about the victims of the abuse, i think that will send a powerful message, but the wider economic inequality in the world, which have pope has talked about as cardinal and that doesn't get as much

attention in the main stream media, because everyone focuses on the sexuality issues, but he really challenged during the debt crisis in argentina, he challenged austerity of places like the world bank and others, so i think there's some real hope there as well. >> michael: but i don't think a lot of people look at benedict and think of him as a neoliberal, but the rest of the world looks at the catholic church and waits for them to be introspective on other issues. he supported the use of condoms to help with disease. could we see use of birth control in the catholic church? >> recently in german catholic hops they have come out and said they would accept contraceptive

contraceptives. so i think there is a way to talk about issues. let's take same-sex marriage for example. the last pope referred to that issue as a threat to humanity itself. and that kind of language has no place in the church. and hopefully this new pope will have a more thoughtful nuanced loving tone when it comes to these issues. >> michael: here in america we look nate a different way. we have a catholic vice president now, and a recent "new york times" cbs poll shows americans would like the pope to be more progressive on social issues. >> it's his first day, the jury i have still out on that. again, i don't think we're going to see radical change but i

think the challenge for this pope is going to be holding an equilibrium, a 2000 year history, and being more responsive to a modern world that is clearly moving in very different directions than the church is. as you noted most catholics do support issues like same-sex marriage. so i would hope as a beginning we could have a better conversation about this. a more thoughtful tone from the pope and not demonizing people. all of us as catholics, we have friends, family members, and colleagues who are gay who love the church. and i think we need a new tone when it comes to those issues. >> michael: i think so too. i think there are a lot of people that would talk about the across the board richness of that social justice history, and higher pope francis has a chance

to change a little bit of that. thank you so much for being with us, we really appreciate you being here. coming up next a couple of our favorites who always people to be a bit ahead of the curve, charlie pierce and christine pelosi. plus gun reform if it seems like rank and file americans are doing more to further testify that fort than their elected officials that's probably because they are. and later why does climate change have a bigger impact on the lives of minorities? it's an interesting question and the answers might surprise you. it's a "war room" on a wednesday and we're just getting started so stick around. brought to you by expedia. expedia helps 30 million travellers a month find what they are looking for one traveller at a time.

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>> if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war you must be high. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think that there is any chance we'll see this president even say the words "carbon tax"? >> with an open mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. ♪ >> michael: you're back inside "the war room"," i'm michael

shure. president obama went to capitol hill to sell his second-term plans to house republicans. it was his first meeting with the entire republican caucus in two years. republicans only seem to care about achieving an balanced budget, however. he got a standing ovation but various news reports show that john boehner ovation was louder. >> obama: it was beautiful. >> michael: speaker boehner said the meeting was productive but. >> republicans want to balance the budget. the presidents doesn't. republicans want to solve our long-term debt problem. the president doesn't. we want to unlock our energy resources to put more americans back to work. the president doesn't. >> michael: the president is entering hostile territory now.

joining me now is charlie pierce he comes to us from boston, welcome back into "the war room." >> thank you. >> michael: most people are distracted by the new pope today. will the president or republicans benefit more from this quincecoincidence. >> there was no white smoke coming out of the white house today i'll tell you that. that process has broken down. and the notion that the republicans are interested in balancing the budget is laughable. they are interested in cutting taxes for rich people. they are not interested in balancing the budget. reagan taught them deficits don't matter. >> michael: and that's it and they just keep doing the same thing, and now it appears the polling is letting us know that

the president's offensive is going down what does this say about the president? and this idea that the white house had? >> i think the -- the reason the president's numbers are dropping is because nothing is getting done. the reason the president's numbers are dropping is we elected him to do certain things, and the other side wants nothing to happen. so what you are turning this into is not a stymied people but a president who -- stymied president, but a president who has broken his promise. >> michael: right after the meeting nbc news is saying that paul ryan said the president did himself a lot of good. but he is the guy who beat paul

ryan. go ahead. >> i just -- i have to say -- and i have to use -- you know, what my -- my grandmother used to say, is who is paul ryan when he is at home? he is a discredited economic char lotton and a failed vice presidential candidate and a guy who couldn't even carry his own town in the election. >> michael: so let's look at the other side is there a chance that this offensive works for the president? >> i don't think so unless it works for him in a way that winds up with his own base lighting his hair on fire. if you are on the progressive side of the budget proposed by bernie sanders and that coalition, your best chance right now is the tea party. the tea party will blow up whatever deal comes out from the right, and the president will be

forced to retrench himself on ground of your chooses. >> michael: yeah that really is the land of last resort. let's go back to ryan then. because you were just talking about the budget. you wrote that ryan's budget is magical thinking. what do you mean by that? >> it depends on numbers that aren't there, and tax cuts that he won't specify. it depends on -- you know, a -- as i said -- i think i said in the blog, it depends vitally on the sale of army surplus unicorns to the sirrian rebels. this was birthed by a fan taste call 30-year budget that was so hilarious that joe biden literally laughed in his face on national television. >> michael: it was a lot of

malarky, isn't that what he said? >> yes. >> michael: it was very exciting especially in boston. it is probably a word used a lot there. >> we know people named malarky there. >> michael: that's true. a lot of our political junky viewers read ezra klein's blog and you recently took issue with him writing, quote . . . why pick this battle charlie? >> because i -- i have spent 30 years in this business and i know people wanting folks to write for free which is what [ inaudible ] was here in the first place, this not a new phenomenon everybody publisher has wanted that person to work

for free. but there is all of this thinking -- and i don't deny the importance of the new technologies. everybody is a journalist and i don't deny ezra he is enormously gifted at what he does. but he is not all of journalism, there are a lot of people working out there working on tv, and newspapers, who are being asked to do more for less money, and i know the way wages get depressed, app the easiest way to depress wages for everyone is to get people working for free. and i don't think that's a progressive value. >> michael: that's true. there is a difference in the way opinion and journalism are represented today, and i think calling it out once in a while is really important. let's move to news of the day charlie. your city is cardinal sean

o'malley. how are they taking the news that they didn't get a pope? >> well we got the red sox, and the patriots in the last couple of super bowl we're used to it. i really thought would be another italian. this guy is intriguing. he is the first jezowitoh pope dan gets five more novels. >> michael: thank you, charlie. up next congress and innocent gone took a long over due first step towards addressing the sexual assault crisis in the military. we'll talk about that to christine pelosi right after the break. gripping, current.

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♪ >> michael: welcome back inside "the war room," i'm michael shure. let's start with rebecca, a 30-year-old who joined the army in 2004. she was the only female sergeant in a bomb squad in eastern afghanistan, but the stress of dismantling bombs was nothing compared to what she endured at the hand of one of her fellow

soldiers. >> he pretty much said you are not going to leave until i get what i wanted. and proceeded to rape me. >> michael: while the sergeant raped her, another colleague took photoed and posted them on the website hot military girls. she later sought help from a military chaplain, but he told her that the aledged rape was god's will intended to get her attention to she would go back to church. she reported her case to her commanders. they dismissed it and didn't follow up. one in three women in the armed forces has been raped. that's twice as many as the civilian world. today she joined fellow service members in a congressional hearing. >> the military criminal justice system is broken. fortunately my case is not much different from the many other cases that have been reported.

i feared retaliation before and after i reported many of the systems set up to help failed me miserably miserably. >> michael: and they weren't the only ones doing nothing. this is the first time in a decade that a hearing had been held on this issue. joining me now is christine pelosi, chair of the california democratic party women's caucus. just an unimaginable story that this woman has in -- endured. >> i think part of why this happened is that you have six women on the committee, so there's a critical mass of women there who are saying we now have to act and make a difference.

we also saw that barbara boxer was one of chuck hagel's earliest supporters. so for a jewish woman who is pro equality and pro choice to support hagel on condition that he fix this issue was very strong, so he owes barbara he owes this country, and he understands that. secretary hagel owes sen tor boxer. but you look at the courage that it took to testify today. imagine that courage if it had been channelled into protecting our country, rather than having to protect themselves. >> michael: we get so excited with the numbers, 20 women in the senate election day, but this is when it matters when you have a hearing on something that you would have not otherwise had a hearing on. so it's more than fanfare and celebration on election day.

this is why you're happy about it, when you see things like this. let's go to chuck hagel. last week you were here crying for chuck hagel to do something, in that case where a jury's ruling was overturned on a sexual assault case in the military in the air force. it turns out now secretary hagel is look going this. is this a good step? >> i think it is. when hagel came in, he understood he needed to act and made a commitment to act. he had shined a light where before people had been invisible. so i'm very confident that hague sell going to take the steps that are necessary, because i'm confident in the thousands of people who are going to push him to do the right thing. >> michael: yeah, that's what i'm talking about, shining the light really important. i shine the light on my garage

every day, and it is still a mess. so is there something we know about chuck hagel that is actually going to get action out of this. >> he has proven in the past that given an assignment to serve his country, he does it. i think he is incredibly good at following the orders of the commander in chief, and in this case president obama has made it very clear he wanted action on this front. i think chuck hagel will deliver, and the women in the house and the senate, and across the country are going to make sure that that light continues to shine. believe me if i had a flashlight on your garage you would clean it. >> i understand which is why you have never seen my garage. let's talk about jackie spear because she introduced the military judicial reform act. >> the fact that one person, one person can overturn a punishment

determined by a judge or a jury flies in the face of justice. >> michael: so this is big stuff. this is what we were talking about last week. you did a petition on this, and now you see action on it. does this go far enough? >> it doesn't. but it's a good first start. what she was talking about in part was the fact that two santa cruz police officers were murdered by a former army rapist who's rapes were never prosecuted. he got out and as it turns out he is able to walk the streets and not only that walk the streets with a gun and shoot two police officers and kill them. and the army is complicit in those cop killings by letting him walk the street. so it's not just for the women who are raped, but because of the future victims outside of

the military like those two police officers dead in santa cruise at the hands of a military rapist. >> and those are big words. the army is complicit, and it sounds like washington is hearing those words. let's move to what happened in rome today. you are an american catholic. pope francis named pope today. how do you feel about that? do you think this is a good choice for pope? >> i do. i'll never stop hoping as i look at the scarlet curtain that a woman will emerge. but i think one who picked my name francis when i was confirmed as an archbishop i think it's exciting. cc is the anthem of the city. and pope paul the sixth said if

you want peace work for justice. and just like chuck hagel, the new pope is coming into an organization ripe with sexual assault, ripe with victims, and what he needs to do is have really a zero tolerance policy. he really needs to clean house of the pedophile priest and when the new pope bowed and asked for a blessing, i sent a tweet hoping he will open his heart to all male and female gay and straight alike. >> did he retweet? >> he did not. but as a catholic it matters to me that the church have integrity. and there's such a powerful social justice tradition, and the people who grew up here and now the pope. it's very exciting for the poor.

and you know where i think it help too? immigration reform? and perhaps he will urge the republican catholics in congress and others -- >> michael: i think there are a lot who want the church to catch up to americans in those regards. thank you for being with us here in "the war room." you probably never heard of shannon watts, but she is one of the many unheralded champions in reducing gun violence.

♪ >> michael: if the slaughter of 20 children inside sandy hook elementary isn't enough to changes to our gun laws and culture, maybe the killing of a tolder will. this girl died tuesday.

a bullet went through her chest at six months old. she was shot as her dad changed her diaper in their mini van. her dad is a gang member and was the intended target. in the 89 days since the tragedy at newtown at least 2,635 americans have died as a result of gun violence. that's a rough estimate from "slate" magazine, and that's about 100 new townes since new townes. some mothers aren't waiting before mobilizing, however. today an organization dismatched members across capitol hill. the group's goals are . . .

joining me now is the founder of the group, shannon watts. thanks for joining us here in "the war room." >> thank you. >> michael: take us inside your efforts today. how were you received by members of congress? >> we were received very well. we had a white house policy briefing this morning at about 8:30, and we spent an hour with members of the white house administration telling us all about what we should be doing to help fight the fight for gun control in this country, and we were even met by valley jerit, and we were very thrilled that they took moms so seriously. and then we spent the day meeting with our representatives and then we had a great press conference where senator boxer

and senator feinstein, representative pelosi, and they talked very glowingly about moms who were there. 250 moms were there, and we had more than 100 meetings with our legislators today to demand common sense gun laws. >> michael: a lot of the names you just mentioned are names we would expect to be in favor of changing the gun laws we have now. what about representatives on the hill who are opposed to these gun laws? >> live in indiana, so i had four different meetings with representatives and senator staff from my state, and the democrats and republicans alike are very progun in the state of indiana. but they hear constantly from members of the nra and gun lobbyists who tell them that, you know, we are trying to ban all guns or take away the second

amendment and we need to come more often and in district and make the calls to show that we are 80 million strong, the nra is 4 million strong and if we ban together we'll make a difference. >> michael: you mentioned that some of these meetings were emotional. how did representatives that you met with particularly ones from your state respond to the personal stories of gun violence. >> i think that's really where moms shine. we aren't just about facts or money. we are about stories and take care of our children. that's what we are charged with and do instinct wally. so whether the mom is touched by gun violence or fearful that she will lose her child to gun violence, we come with a different perspective. and there were some tears from moms saying please don't let this tragedy at sandy hook elementary and the 16 mass

shootings in 2012 be for not. please act. and let's not argue about whether this is going to lead to a registry or what -- scary things could happen. this is about common sense. we don't need to be so polarized. we just need to act, and if we don't act now then we really have done our children a disservice. >> michael: i couldn't agree with you more. you had these meetings on the hill. you mentioned the meeting at the white house today. that's pretty heady stuff. but with everything that president obama has on his plate right now, are you confident that the administration can move this issue forward? >> i am very confident they can move forward but only if legislators hear constantly that 90% of us support background checks, but we aren't making as

much noise as the members of the nra who are acting on fear. but if that happens i'm confident it would help. >> michael: i'm imagining you sitting in a congressman's office, thinking about all of the things that you were saying and the emotion, but then the nra people come up there and they come with money. and this is what you are sup against. for the 2012 election it spent . . . what can you and your moms do to counter that? >> a lot of people said the 2012 election was going to be determined by money, and it wasn't. it was determined by women and moms who wanted a different future for their children, and when it comes to the midterms and all of the other elections that are going to be coming up

if we ban together regardless of our political party, if we can ban together as non-partisan moms who care about our children's future and can agree we need background checks and an salt weapons ban and regulation for ammunition went we will get it down. >> michael: shannon your cause is noble, moms seem to know a lot, we're glad to v you fighting for this cause. coming up we hear it all the time. and if you want to show the impact of climate change put a human face on it. we'll be back with that story next. bring future guy back. watch him build a tft display like nothing you've ever seen. get him to explain exactly what that is. the thin film transistor display... [ male announcer ] mmm, maybe not. just show it. customize the dash give it park assist. the fuel efficiency flower thing.

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♪ >> michael: coming up at the top of the hour is "young turks."

cenk uygur what have you got tonight? >> popes and penguins. >> michael: really? >> yes new pope and the usual cynical brand of journalism to it, but i might shock the world and be slightly hopeful. >> michael: really? >> we'll see. we'll see. and we have penguins, it turns out they are dying at a shocking rate. we'll talk about that. and then little spicy action hbo show "girls" had a pretty controversial sex scene. did it go way too far? we'll discuss it. >> michael: what has happened to the turks since i left yesterday it was porn and racism and today it is penguins and sex scenes. all right. cenk, i'm excited to see it. minorities and the poor endure a

disproportion at it share of suffering due to climate change. they often live in the most inhospitable environments and those conditions are made worse by climate change. in 2007 over half those killed in a flood that devastated india were members of the lowest cast. here in america, urban areas where the majority of african-americans live, they are the brunt of heat waves. heat-related deaths among african-americans are 150 to 200% greater than whites. for more on the impact of climate change on african american communities, i'm joined by dr. marshall sheperd at the university of georgia. he is also the president of the american immediate logical society and comes to us tonight from atlanta georgia.

welcome to "the war room." >> thank you for having me. >> stephanie: dr. sheperd your article in ebony say african-americans are disproportionately exposed to climate change. i want you to explain how this works. >> yeah, sure. i mean most people when they watch the evening news they might notice in the downtown of the city it is warmer than the surrounding rural or outlying areas. that's because cities have asphalt and concrete there is less trees and vegetation and heat from car engines and air conditioning units. and that's why it tends to be warmer in the downtown cities of atlanta and san francisco than the surrounding areas. >> michael: and not only is it where people live you also point

out that the jobs affected by climate change like in agriculture impact hispanics and african-americans. >> yeah, any marginalized population is going to feel the effect of climate change irrespective of color, but here in georgia we have seen quite a bit of drought. here in georgia many african-americans particularly in more rural counties work in the agricultural industry farming, and these industries are vulnerable to drought and increased frequency and intensity of drought which many studies suggest will occur as our clie climate changes. >> michael: i think every american, you know, goes to hurricane and thinks about that

how it disproportionately affected african-americans in hurricane katrina. one factor was they were living in low-lying areas in new orleans. but this is more about the long-term effect of this. >> exactly. hurricane katrina puts a face on what this particular study talk about, but when we think about climate change african-americans are more vulnerable to heat stresses, to air pollution and asthma-related health consequences african-americans tend to be heightened by storms and climate change activity but are less likely to respond to things like floods and hurricanes. another interesting thing is the southeast has the largest -- one of the largest populations of african americans in the united states. that's also one of the regions

most vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical cyclones so when we sue superstorm sandy or katrina, the southeastern population is particularly vulnerable to these types of storms. >> michael: it is more difficult to bring awareness to this problem, because there's not a head-line related storm disaster happening right now? is that a big problem with this story? >> yeah, whether you are african american or not, oftentimes people see climate change as something creeping off into the future. but as i told the senate about three weeks ago, it's really about cheerios. people are saying more for cheerios because of what is happening in the midwest. these are all things linked to the climate change and climate discussion. i think it's important to bring

awareness to people who say por get about polar bears, and i say it's about my 5 year old and my 9 year old, and what they will face in their generation. >> michael: that says it all, if you are in the middle ofatlanta, polar bears aren't going to resinate. dr. shepherd thanks for being here in "the war room." we'll take a quick break and then brett ehrlich gets ready for cpac. oh, joy. you're watching "the war room." we'll be right back. ♪ young turks is that we're honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

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♪ >> michael: now for the best of the rest progressive news bites we don't want you to miss on

this wednesday night. first up where there is smoke there is a hire, but first the women's ored nation conference staged a smokout releasing canisters of pink smoke into the air to protest the all male conclave. the jury is out on whether the holy sea will make this a priority. there is a little league in atwood, illinois in need of new equipment. so that decided to have a raffle. last year's raffle only brought in ten bucks. this year they went gang busters. guess what the prize is? >> this ar-15 is a gun in high demand. >> they are probably one of the hardest on the market to get right now. >> and for one lucky winner the grand prize in the atwood

illinois little league. >> michael: yes, that's right. a local cancer charity raised $7,000 raffling one away and it's really no surprise how popular the gun is in the midwestern city. sales for this type of gun have skyrocketed since the sandy hook shooting. this weekend the gop's most rabid conservatives will gather for cpac. for brett ehrlich that means the potential for comedic gold. everybody calm down brett is talking now. >> it's cpac eve. it's like christmas eve except there's no war on cpac yet. what are you going to wear? before you answer that you might want to check out this pdf that has been circulating. it's an ill stating rundown of